


The Box Step And Other Impossibilities

by TinyBat



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff everywhere, shark week and Enchanted made this happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-03
Updated: 2012-10-03
Packaged: 2017-11-15 12:54:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyBat/pseuds/TinyBat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snow and Charming have seen fit to give Emma an official investiture ceremony and ball to follow. Emma can't dance and her father is a rubbish teacher. Henry calls in back up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Box Step And Other Impossibilities

**Author's Note:**

> Recommended Song: So Close- Jon McLaughlin

"Really, I don't see why this is necessary. I have a title, i'm Sheriff remember?" muttered a deeply irritated Emma Swan from a prone position on her couch. Her parents had made the decision without her to give the people something to cheer about and officially give Emma the title of Princess. An investiture ceremony, a large ball afterwards and what Emma imagined to be a hideously large dress for both. Emma had been born a princess but wasn't officially crowned, there hadn't even been time for a real goodbye for the three of them. Prince Charming and Snow White were making up for it in spectacular fashion.

Her father was taping what appeared to be a broken toe, that had been her doing. He insisted that he be the one to teach her how to dance. It had ended rather poorly though he could have fared far worse. She slipped and he moved to catch her but caught his foot on the edge of the coffee table. Much foul language and a fit of giggles from the watching Henry later, Prince Charming was sitting in a chair with a roll of medical tape and gauze trying to save face.

"You were a princess first but Regina saw to it that we never showed you to the kingdom and all of that. It's necessary because your mother had to do it, I was forced into one, and because frankly Emma, our people are in need of something to celebrate. Don't take it away from them in a fit of pique." came the pained reply from her weirdly young father. He got up, limped over to the door and smiled back at her. "We'll get it, i'll make sure you look every inch as wonderful as you are. For now I do think I need to go take a few Advil and calm your mother down. I'm sure she has half our bedroom covered in arrangements."

He squeezed his grandsons shoulder and waved to his daughter then made his exit. Emma watched him go, still adjusting to the notion that she had parents, they loved her, they were real, and that through a truly bizarre set of circumstances, they were fairy tale characters and not much older than she was. She hesitated to call them Mother and Father but neither seemed to mind, they had an equal amount of difficulty with having an adult daughter but embraced it. Charming was a decent enough teacher, he had laughed at her first fumbling attempts and was almost infintely patient, she just wasn't a good student.

Henry enjoyed it immensely, his grandparents were tied with Emma for his favorite people in the whole universe so any time spent with either of them had him bursting with joy. Henry also had a knack for knowing when things wouldn't work out so he had a back up plan. With his grandfather well out of range, he walked out into the hallway, took out his phone, made a call and came back in smiling.

"Emma, I found you a new teacher! He's good, or atleast better to the point where if he breaks anything if won't be by accident." He looked suspiciously pleased and plopped down in the recently vacated chair. Emma rolled onto her side to watch her sons expression with a hint of concern. "Who? Or are you not going to tell me?" Henry shook his head and undid his tie. He had opted to stay in his school uniform, unwilling to miss his mother and and grandfather attempt waltzing around Emma's apartment.

Emma dragged herself up off the couch and went over to the stereo to put the music back on. She had tried to learn with music the first few times and it hadn't helped so it had been shut off. She didn't want the quiet now otherwise she'd start thinking about large dresses and crowded rooms. A knock sounded at the door and Henry threw his tie to Emma before going to answer. "Blindfold yourself, it's easier when you don't look at your feet!" Emma did as she was told while Henry led their guest in. A young and distinctly feminine laugh bubbled into the air from the doorway accompanied by a "sshhh" from Henry and Emma felt a small tendril of something not unlike unease unfurl in her stomach.

Henry had called Jefferson and his daughter Grace, or more likely Grace and requested her father. Emma and Jefferson were on friendly enough terms now that he wasn't going to try anything unseemly and she wasn't going to attempt to brain him with the nearest heavy object. They actually got on quite nicely which didn't suit Emma's fancy at all. He was trouble in all the ways she didn't need right now. Attractive, clever, funny, reliable, and a shockingly good father. The mad man had pulled a disappearing act and left a completely changed man in his place. He had to work hard to assure Emma and her mother that he'd changed, he alone wouldn't have been enough but Grace's happiness proved it to them both.

Here he was standing in her living room and there she was, blindfolded and schoolgirl nervous. "Hello Emma. I hope you don't mind but Henry called and let me know that your father wasn't successful at teaching you to dance and asked if I could step in. I promise you i'm qualified. Also, before you ask, you should probably keep the blindfold on. You'll know when you're ready to take it off." Emma felt the floor move under her and heard footsteps drawing near over the music now in the background. Jefferson took her hand and placed it lightly on his shoulder and then took her other in his, leaving his free hand on her waist.

He was smiling, Emma could tell. "Did Henry also tell you my father left with a broken toe? How are you qualified for this. I thought you made hats?" She tilted her still blindfolded head up to his and did her best to smile right back in a way she knew got under his skin. "I made hats and wore quite a few myself. I was a member of the duchy in a smaller fiefdom near your parents among others. Dancing was something of a requirement for the nobility. My penchant for being a world hopping scoundrel put me out of favor with my family but i'm still much better on my feet than your father could ever hope to be. I won't break a thing."

Not seeing him but being so aware of his presence was putting Emma on edge, she'd give Henry a talking to after this was over. The smug hatter pulled her in only a little bit closer and her heart rate shot up. this was so far from alright it was almost funny. She swallowed hard and ignored the screaming 20 year old in her head telling her to tear off the blind fold and kiss him until they passed out. . If you're half as good as you've said than i'm sure i'll do fine."

"Okay, you're going to need to trust me. Step forward with your right foot and bring your left up parallel to it. I'm leading so you'll have to follow." Emma moved her foot forward and drew the other in next to it without issue. "Now, you're going to take one small step to your right and bring your feet together again. Good! Now one backward, then to the left. The key here is to keep the movement as fluid as possible and relax. Most first timers tend to look at their feet which is why i'm almost positive your father is now a member of the walking wounded." Emma laughed and found relaxing easier when she wasn't concentrating on how her feet looked in motion. The music was a bit louder now and she found that she didn't really mind. A change in the atmosphere meant that Henry and Grace had probably left, two less sets of eyes to watch her humiliate herself.

This wasn't so hard. Learning from her father had been a bit strange with the awkwardness still present. Her teacher now was much more at ease and that made this fun. "This is called a box step, it's fairly simple but it can get muddled if the lead switches between partners. You seem to have it so i'm going to get a bit dangerous here. Take off the blindfold and i'll spin you. " Jefferson squeezed her hand briefly and let her go to allow for Henry's tie to be removed. He looked different. Less predatory animal and more on the level of first date awkward guy. Still confident but slightly flushed in the cheeks and smiling in a genuine fashion.

"Our audience is gone, Henry is going to miss me taking us both down." Emma tied her hair back and looked up at her teacher. "What now?" They moved back into the first form and after a series of small failures achieved a turn. Messy but successful. "From the turn i'll let you go out and then you extend yourself out through the arms and spin in so it's like i'm standing behind you." This had a much smoother execution with no pile of limbs and embarrassed adult on the floor and both parties were now quite comfortable with the idea of such close contact. "Very good, now the box step again but we stay like this. I'm behind you. Good. Spin out again and you'll come in to face me"

Apparently this had gone on for much longer than expected because the music had changed from the classical selections Henry recommended and onto a cd full of Disney music given to Emma as a joke from Ruby. Emma hadn't seen the film the current song was from but at Ruby's insistence she had looked up the scene. It was sweet with one "real world" character and the other a "fairy tale' character dancing together in a ballroom. A cliche'd orchestra and award bait being sung to accompany the dancing couple. Said award bait song was now coming out of her speakers and here she was dancing with the Mad Hatter. The wonders in her life never ceased. She didn't mind one bit and she had a suspicion that he didn't either. Said suspicion was confirmed as the dance continued now with no anxiety on Emma's part whatsoever. Just natural movement and easy grace. Jefferson made a wonderful teacher but he kept proving to be a wonderful everything. Wonderful kisser too as it turned out.

The song ended with them pressed as close together as the dance allowed and he tilted her face up for a kiss. Not rough or forced, just in the moment and fitting for a princess in a story like Emmas. The moment ended when the door to Henry's room creaked open and the sound of two hands high fiving echoed through the room. Emma and Jefferson broke apart and turned to witness their children with expressions of mischievous glee. Henry was holding a video camera and Grace was smiling so hard it looked as though her face would crack.

"I told you he was a better teacher! Grace owes me $5 now. She thought we'd have to mediate but I thought this would work! I was right and now I have proof!" Neither adult moved, the camera was still blinking red for recording so they smiled for the camera and let it be. Emma was now a passable dancer which had been previously thought impossible and Jefferson had now quite officially moved into "hero of the kingdom" territory for making it happen. Had the children not interuppted when they did he probably could have taken another title as well.


End file.
